While American corporate media has focused on yet another stale election between Wall Street-financed candidates, Occupy has been organizing something extraordinary: the first truly nationwide General Strike in U.S. history. Building on the international celebration of May Day, past General Strikes in U.S. cities like Seattle and Oakland, the recent May 1st Day Without An Immigrant demonstrations, the national general strikes in Spain this year, and the on-going student strike in Quebec, the Occupy Movement has called for A Day Without the 99% on May 1st, 2012. This in and of itself is a tremendous victory. For the first time, workers, students, immigrants, and the unemployed from 135 U.S. cities will stand together for economic justice.

See below for what we believe to be the most comprehensive list yet compiled of cities where Occupy May Day events are being planned, as well as other resources. Note: This is a living document. Check back for updates! If you have any additional events, please let us know in the comment section of this article. You are encouraged to share this page in as many ways as possible!

International

Note: May 1st is a nationally-recognized holiday (International Workers´ Day or May Day) in over 80 countries. It would be impossible to list every demonstration worldwide. The following list only reflects May Day events organized by Occupy-related groups in direct solidarity with #OWS.

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Please put Occupy San Diego on the map, we are definitely participating in the May Day Strike! People from all over the county will be gathering in the city of San Diego to educate the masses on the People Power that comes through Labor, Consumer, and Citizen Solidarity!

News from Occupy Sydney,Australia.Police withdraw six more camping charges

Altogether 11 camping/staying overnight matters have been dismissed due to lack of evidence

Magistrate finds prosecution’s evidence “essentially unreliable” and the arrest to have been made illegally

One sentence overturned and conviction quashed on appeal while Judge commends “courage”

Federal Court challenge to police actions continues, led by Stuart Littlemore QC
Last Friday 13th April, over 25 participants in Occupy Sydney came before the courts, largely for matters arising from the first police clearance of the Occupy Sydney protest site on 23rd October 2011. In another victory for the right to protest against greed and injustice in Australia NSW police were forced to withdraw six matters alleging ‘camping’. The continuing illegitimate police tactics towards the Occupy Sydney movement only serve to reinforce the public perception of a poorly directed NSW Police force.
These events follow two similar recently withdrawn matters. On 4th April, due to insufficient evidence the court also dismissed a charge of a breach of a local council regulation prohibiting “staying overnight”. Magistrate Bradd in the Downing Centre found the prosecution’s evidence to be lacking and “essentially unreliable”. He also made remarks about the illegality of the initial arrest given the absence of reasonable grounds for the police to suspect an offence had occurred.

In that case, the police officers involved included Detective Sergeant Damien Loone from the Rocks Police Station, commander of Operation Goulding, responsible for the policing of the Occupy Sydney protest. Robert Hammond, a 66-year-old pensioner and Occupy Sydney participant from the Central Coast, was forced to spend 10 hours in police custody in early February for the alleged offence of “staying overnight” in Martin Place. Mr. Hammond successfully defended himself by exposing the lack of evidence for the offence and the inappropriate use of arrest and bail, far in excess of the alleged offence, so as to prevent him from returning to the Occupy Sydney demonstration site in Martin Place.
On 12th April, Vicki Smart, also an Occupy participant, successfully challenged the severity of her sentence earlier this year regarding a solidarity action against Westpac’s redundancies and offshoring. The Judge found that Ms. Smart’s original sentence was excessive, and commented on her courage in the action itself. The Judge then ordered a Section 10 “no conviction recorded” replace the original conviction.

Since mid-October 2011, NSW police have made over 90 arrests of people who, through Occupy Sydney, have been demonstrating against economic injustice and government indifference. The vast majority of legal matters relate to alleged breaches of local council regulations by ‘camping’ or “staying overnight”. ‘To date, not a single charge has succeeded in court. In total, ten charges have either been withdrawn by police or dismissed by the court due to lack of evidence. This shows a clear pattern of political abuse directed towards Occupy Sydney, something which we have been forced to endure for these last six months. Globally police forces have behaved irrationally towards peaceful protesters participating in this movement and we urge the relevant bodies to engage with addressing these issues’ said ….. an Occupy Sydney participant These courtroom victories expose the police attempts to criminalise involvement in the Occupy Sydney demonstration.

Occupy Sydney is also challenging the constitutional basis of police actions in the Federal Court. Stuart Littlemore QC, with instructions from solicitors in Marsden’s Law Group, is representing Occupy Sydney to challenge whether police evictions, arrests, property seizures and other actions conducted on the premise of enforcing a Council notice prohibiting ‘camping’, are in breach of the implied right to the freedom of political communication in the Constitution.
Occupy Sydney’s Federal Court case is similar to one brought by Occupy Melbourne, which is currently awaiting a decision on its recent hearing in the Federal Court in Melbourne. The outcomes of these challenges will have important consequences for the right of all Australians to protest freely in public without state sponsored interference and intimidation.
Participants in Occupy Sydney will continue to challenge attempts to criminalise their political activity and demonstrations against continued financial and environmental crisis. The next directions hearing for the Federal Court case will be 22nd May at the Federal Court. On 30th May at the Downing Centre, the barrister and media figure Charles Waterstreet will continue his pro bono defence of Lily Hatten, a 19-year-old woman who is one of the most active participants in Occupy Sydney, also charged with “staying overnight”.
Media contacts:

This is also happening here in the USA and we too have had some support from the justice system in upholding our rights. I myself am looking forward to the time when charges are brought upon the leadership of the police departments for harassment and denying constitutional rights for illegal arrests and detainment.

Cheers DK,It may also be that in France we see the start of a newness with a change of the guard coming up.Let`s hope the people prevail.Stuff the kleptocrats full of the baloney they dish out to us all and then charge them with their crimes of fraud.

Occupy Santa Rosa is supporting the May 1st General Strike call by organizing for a day of nonviolent direct action to show the 1% that we mean business. We are also working with the May 1st Coalition, which includes labor, immigrants rights and faith-organizations, to organize a massive rally and march in the afternoon.

Some actions may include pickets in front of Wall St banks, actions inside the State Building, and “Flash Naps” (a new tactic developed by our Dorothy Day Working Group, to protest anti-sleeping laws and the criminalization of the poor).

Here is our current schedule for the day. All demonstrations will begin at Courthouse Square.

5am: Rush-hour messaging: banner-drops, mini-protests.
9am: Breakfast and Morning activities
Noon: Lunch and Direct Actions
3pm: Converge to march to the May 1st Coalition Rally in Roseland, which will begin at 3:30pm.

*Also, this just in: The Santa Rosa City Council will be discussing the anti-sleeping ordinances at its meeting on Tuesday night, right around the same time that thousands of people will be marching past. This is a good chance for us to pack the room and declare that poverty is not a crime. There is no lack money! There is a lack of justice!

On May 2nd, Occupy Santa Rosa will re-establish a consistent presence in Courthouse Square, so that the 99% will have a central location where they can plug in to the struggle and help us build out into other communities. We will have a daily Information Booth, constant outreach, Working Group meetings and GA’s, regular meals, and activities. We have so far agreed to not camp, for now.

Occupy Dover NH, Occupy Portsmouth NH, and Occupy Seacoast NH support a general strike! We march at 4PM and are also joining with New Hampshire Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees at 5PM for an Immigrants/Workers Rights Rally. Please add us to the list!

4-6pm OSD Labor Solidarity Rally at Civic Center and march to Chicano Park

5:30pm Chicano Park Celebration

MAY DAY 2012: A day without the 99%.

May day is about the debt imposed on you for daring to dream about a college education.

It’s about the healthcare you can’t afford, the family member with a disease which goes untreated because they lack insurance.

It’s about your car that got repo-ed after you lost your job.

It’s about your home that got foreclosed on by the bank.

It’s about your family, who came here for a better future, and got lost in the broken immigration system, and found that they’re denied access to legal work, education and security because they’re undocumented.

It’s about you, the gay kid who gets bullied at school, and will grow up in a country which denies you equality and humanity, simply because you love someone of the same gender.

It’s about the fact there’s no jobs, even if you got that college education and those grades.

It’s about the single mother who struggles to support her kids on minimum wage - which is not a living wage.

It’s about the woman who makes it through Harvard, works her butt off in one of the best law firms in the country, and constantly loses out on that promotion because she’s not a man.

It’s about the homeless African-American man who lives on the street and gets thrown in jail for peeing in a park, because there are no toilet facilities on the street for those like him.

It’s about the protestor who gets beaten and thrown in jail for holding a sign in a public space which says he want equality.

It’s about the farmer who’s had to leave his home and work, because the state raised his land tax.

It’s about the father who loses a son to a pointless war over oil in a foreign land.

It’s about the fact this is not the America we were brought up to believe in.

IT'S TIME TO TAKE TO THE STREETS!

This event has been organized by workers, union and non union to tell the 1% NO MORE! We will be marching from Civic Center to demonstrate in front of the banks that have taken our homes, the state building for taking our medical care, the ICE building that has deported and destroyed families and all other places that have waged a war on working people!!

Jacksonville, Florida will be holding a May Day Demonstration @ the wells fargo center in the financial district, downtown jacksonville. This is GA endorsed and will consist of several affinity groups from around the area. Meeting @ 11am @ Hemming Plaza, March @ 12pm to One Independent Drive for rally and demonstration. All day, all night!!

Slight correction: The May Day events in Las Vegas are being organized by OccupyLV.org in conjunction with the May Day Coalition. The folks at OccupyLasVegas.org have decided to support the action, but are not playing an organizational role of any kind. This is indicated by the links on the page you have linked to above: Note that all #M1 data referenced there is actually located on OccupyLV.org.

May 1st Coalition: UNIONIZE, LEGALIZE, ORGANIZE | OccupyWallSt.org
Get Involved as you can. At least be aware of what is happening in your world. Each of us can seize the time and make a real difference in the world. Show the courage of your convictions.@Peta_de_Aztlan

Hey, I live near Trenton, and am probably going to come up to New York for the day. I'm trying to get a group of students to come, but it will probably just be me and my girl. What can I expect? I don't really want to get arrested, as that is my finals week, lol. I consider myself a social democrat, and this movement really excites me. I really want to see it regain it's momentum.

There will be plenty of opportunities to support the movement on May 1st without risking arrest! For example, there is a concert with Tom Morello and a bunch of other artists, as well as a family-friendly immigrants rights march. (Info about both is/will be posted on this site). Solidarity!

Occupy May Day Westchester, in Westchester, NY. Full day event taking place from 12-6pm in White Plains, sponsored by numerous community organizations. Concludes with a labor-community rally 4:30-6pm. http://occupywestchester.org/

Occupy May Day Westchester, in Westchester, NY. Full day event taking place from 12-6pm in White Plains, sponsored by numerous community organizations. Concludes with a labor-community rally 4:30-6pm. http://occupywestchester.org/

Started one month ago we have reached 11,000 people from 45 countries around the world. More than just attending a rally, this event requests total unplugging, absolute non-compliance, designed for those who live in rural areas,disabled and elderly and in countries like Tibet where they are already being killed and imprisoned. Occupy Your Self.....https://www.facebook.com/events/394461060573363/

Occupy Fairbanks in Fairbanks, Alaska will be participating in the May 1 General Strike. We will be marching in solidarity with other strikers nation- and world-wide, and having a rally at the public library park afterward.

Press Release
May 1st, 2012 Rally - National Day of Action
A Day Without the 99%
No Work – No School – No Housework – No Shopping
Take the Streets on Tuesday!
When: Tuesday May 1st @ 4:30
Where: Redlands Peace Corner (the intersection of Redlands Blvd and Orange St)
Why are we striking? Why should you strike? And, what do we mean by General Strike?
May 1st is also a national day of action for many organizations. Occupy Redlands, along with many other Occupy groups around the country, is endorsing a General Strike. The idea is pretty simple: no work, no school, no shopping. Everything stops for that day.

Additionally, many groups are hosting actions throughout the day. Workers, students, immigrants, and the unemployed from over 125 U.S. cities will stand together for economic justice. Occupy Redlands will be hosting a rally at four corners (the intersection of Redlands Blvd and Orange St) at around 4:30. We will then march to the Council Chambers to voice support for the passage of the resolution renouncing corporate personhood. The meeting starts at 6:00.

The rally itself will focus largely on many of the core issues that we have been discussing all along: growing income inequality, stripping of workers’ rights, expansion of corporate power, etc...

Occupy Redlands is a group of citizens dedicated to improving the quality of life in our local community, the Inland Empire, America, and the World.

We gather in solidarity with the ongoing protest in New York City, Occupy Wall Street, and the growing number of cities whose people will no longer sit back watching corporate and special interests run their government.

(Imo) if the media were to approach you, ask them: Could you please explain to us and to your viewers what the actual definition of the occupy movement is from our perspective? Because we feel your watchers deserve to know.

Occupy Wichita, in Kansas, will meet at 11:30 am at Lewis Park, Douglas between Broadway and Douglas. We'll disperse to flier for May 1 around town with our May Day statement for the 99% in English and Spanish.

If you are making more than $8.00 per hour, the 1% is too stupid to win despite owning armies. What a gig! Hire a piss-ant to occupy a forum. I'm so impressed by the tactic I'm gonna switch sides so I can tell myself I'm real important too! I'm sold! HAHAHA! You go you little dreamer wanna be!

I am disappointed that this has become an act of violence in Seattle. I think Occupy will destroy their cause if this kind of behavior is where they want to go. Shame on the ones causing disruption and violence. You have effectively lowered yourself to the level of the 1%.

I'm sure that unlike the people who are actually amassing in the streets and doing something, who MUST be living in their mother's basements, you must be the epitome of self-dependent maturity, exemplified by you calling them "Occupoopers".